Apparatus for lining pipelines



Aug. 15, 1961 F. M. MATHENY 2,996,085

APPARATUS FOR LINING PIPELINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed July 20,1956 Il 1. 2e 0 go; I! (3;;

2 ..?0 E Pvz /4 30 INVENTOR.

22 82 //M/r %M7//5W Aug. 15, 1961 F. M. MATHENY 2,996,085

APPARATUS FOR LINING PIPELINES Original Filed July 20, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 2 WM v%/M Patented Aug. 15, 1961 APPARATUS FOR LININGPIPELINES Francis M. Matheny, Lynwood, Calif., assignor, by mesneassignments, to American Pipe and Construction Co.,

Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation "of Delaware Original applicationJuly 20, 1956, Ser. No. 599,275, now Patent No. 2,917,820, dated Dec.22, 1959. Divided and this application Mar. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 800,727

11 Claims. (Cl. '140-2) This invention has to do with the placing of asteel reinforced cement mortar lining in a pipeline in place in theground. The application is a division of my application Serial No.599,275 filed July 20, 1956, now Patent No. 2,917,820, issued Dec. 22,1959.

In recent years it has been found to be economical to line old pipelineswith cement mortar to prolong their period of service. The common methodof doing this is to first clean the interior of the pipe andsubsequently apply a thin lining of cement mortar to the inner wall ofthe pipe. It is often found that old steel or iron pipelines have becomeso corroded and rusted that they require additional strength andreinforcement beyond that which is supplied by an unreinforced cementlining. It is also true that there are many instances Where it would beadvantageous to be able to provide a metal reinforcing means against thewall of a tunnel, earth bore hole or the like, and subsequently to coverthis and line the bore or tunnel with cement mortar.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide novel apparatus forthe purpose of applying reinforcement means within a pipeline, tunnel,bore hole or the like in the form of a helically Wound steel wire ofappropriate dimensions and with desired spacing between turns.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a machine orapparatus for applying wire tightly against the inner wall of apipeline, tunnel, bore or other object by coiling the wirefirmly againstthe interior thereof.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings and thefollowing description. Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of apparatus embodying the invention shownwithin a section of a pipeline, the pipe being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational View of the apparatus and a sectional viewof the pipe on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through a portion ofthe apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the wire-feedinghead, in the same plane as FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a section of pipe in whichthere has been placed a lining of reinforcing wire;

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged view in detail showing the convolutions ofthe wire welded to the pipe section;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a wire lining in aconcrete or nonmetal pipe with the wire convolutions welded to a bar;and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a portion of a completed lined pipe.

More particularly describing the invention, my method of relining pipein general comprises the application of wire reinforcement within thepipe in the form of a helical coil with the turns against the interiorof the pipe and the subsequent lining of the pipe by covering thereinforcement with cement mortar to provide a reinforced cement lining.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, I shall first describe the preferred form ofapparatus for applying the helically coiled wire reinforcement to thepipe. In these figures 11 generally designates a pipe section which isshown by way of illustration, and this may be an old corroded andweakened section of pipe forming part of a pipeline in place in theground. Within the pipe section 11 is shown apparatus in the form of amachine, designated 12, the function of which is to line the pipe with areinforcing means in the form of helically disposed turns of wire 14 intight engagement with the interior of the pipe.

The drawings are to some extent diagrammatic in that elements which arewell known in the art are illustrated in outline only. The machineincludes a carriage 16 providing a platform 17. The carriage has a wheel18 at its forward end mounted in a pivotally mounted yoke 19 providedwith a steering lever 20. The frame 16 is also provided with two rearwheels 22 which may be journaled in any conventional manner. These areadapted to be driven by a motor 23 through a suitable gear reduction andvariable speed transmission 24 and a drive train, a portion of which isshown at 25. It is contemplated that the machine be supplied withelectrical current by means of a cable or other conductors leading froma source ahead of the machine. On the machine there is shown a panel,designated 27, which carries various conventional control elements forregulating the speed of motor 123 and controlling other electricalcomponents of the machine.

The frame includes four vertical posts, designated 30, and these supporta vertically adjustable tubular body 31 upon bolts 32 which pass throughears 33 on the body. The ends of the bolts or rods 32 extend throughslots 34 in the posts 30 and are provided with nuts at one end fortightening the structure in place.

Mounted concentrically within the body 31 is an elongated wire-feedtube, designated 35, through which the wire 14 passes. The tube 35. isheld in place by end walls 36 and 37, respectively, provided in the body31.

Rotatively mounted upon the tube 35 beyond the rearward end of the body31 is a drum or rotor 40 which supports a motor 41 for the Wire-feedmechanism.

The motor 41 is preferably electric of the variable speed type and isused to drive the wire-feed rollers comprising a first pair of rollers45 and a second pair of rollers 46. Any suitable means may be used forsupplying current to the motor such as conductor rings 47 supported uponinsulation 48 on the tube 35 together with brushes 50 connected to themotor. An electrical cable 51 may lead to a source of electric currentand be connected into a junction box or housing 52 from which wires (notshown) may connect to the rings 47.

The sets or pairs of feed rollers are mounted upon a head or frameworkdesignated generally 57 which includes a post 58 mounted upon a framemember 60 which is rigidly carried upon rotor 40. The motor 41 can beoperably connected to the two pairs of wire-feed rollers by any suitablemeans such as is Within the knowledge of any one skilled in the art. Forthis purpose I merely show a gear box 61, shaft 6 2, gear case 63,shafts 64 and 65 and gear case 66.

An arm 70 is pivotally mounted at 71 on the post 58 and carries a wireguide roller 72 at its outer end over which the wire passes. The arm 70is biased upwardly of the post and toward the wall of the pipe by a coilspring 73 supported upon a bracket 74, the movement of the arm beinglimited by the bolt 75 and nuts 76. An additional wire guide meansiscarried upon a short arm 78 on the post and this includes the roller 80and wire retaining element 81.

It will be apparent that the motor 41 through the medium of the twopairs of wire feed rollers 45 and 46 draws the wire through tube 35 andforces it outwardly toward and against the wall of the pipe, where it isrolled thereagainst by the roller 72. Through the force of reaction asthe wire is fed against the pipe, the head 57 is thereby caused torotate in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5.

A braking action is provided for the purpose of offering resistance tothis rotation of the head and, while various means may be used toaccomplish this, I prefer to accomplish this by dynamic braking. Thus,on the member 31 I mount a dynamotor or equivalent device, designated85, and connect this to the rotor 40 by means of the gears 86 and 87,the latter being mounted upon the rotor. By suitable regulation adesired amount of braking action or resistance can be offered to theturning of the rotor and wire feed head.

It will be apparent that by varying the speed of the motor 41 and byvarying the speed at which the carriage is advanced I may control thespacing between the turns 14 of the applied reinforcement wire and amthereby enabled to wind the turns of wire as close together as requiredfor a given pipe.

As the machine advances I prefer to tack-weld or spot-weld some of theturns of the wire reinforcement to the pipe for the purpose of holdingthem firmly in place until they are later covered by the cement mortar.For this purpose the machine may be provided with an electrode roller 90carried on a rod 91 telescopically received in mounting 92 and urgedoutwardly into contact with the wire by a spring 93. The roller may beinsulated conventionally by means not shown and connected by conductor94 into an electric welding circuit means carried on the carriage. Aconductor ring and brush assembly (not shown) may be provided betweenthe rotatable head and a stationary part of the carriage.

Referring again to the method and particularly FIGS. 6 and 7 of thedrawing, assuming that the pipe section or pipe has been cleaned, in mymethod I first line the pipe interiorly with the reinforcement wirewhich is wound in the form of turns 14 which are helically disposed.Also, these are preferably tackor spot-welded to the pipe at suitableintervals as indicated in FIG. 7 where the weld has been designated 95.In instances where the pipe being lined is not of metal and may be ofconcrete or the like as designated 100 in FIG. 8, I prefer to lay a barof metal 101 along the bottom of the pipe for the purpose of later beingable to weld various turns of the winding thereto to hold the same inplace, as indicated by welds 103.

After the reinforcement has been placed in the pipe, a coating 105 ofcement mortar is applied to cover the reinforcement and the innersurface of the pipe. In FIG. 9 I show a completed pipe.

Although I have shown and described the process and apparatus inconnection with the lining of steel pipe, it will be apparent that thesame method and apparatus are useful for lining bores, tunnels and thelike in earth, concrete or other substances, and that various changesand modifications may be made in the apparatus Without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for winding a helically coiled wire reinforcement insidea pipe or the like, a carriage adapted to be advanced through the pipe,a wire-feed head means mounted on said carriage for rotation about anaxis coincident with the axis of the pipe, and wire-feed means carriedby said head means for advancing wire toward and against the innersurface of the pipe such that the wire leaves said head means at aregion spaced radially of the axis of rotation of said head meanswhereby, as said wire is forced against said pipe, said head means iscaused to rotate by reaction.

2. In apparatus for winding a helically coiled wire reinforcement meansinside a pipe or the like, a carriage adapted to be advanced through thepipe, a wire-feed heads means mounted on said carriage for rotationabout an axis coincident with the axis of the pipe, wire-feed meanscarried by said head means for advancing wire toward and against theinner surface of the pipe such that the wire leaves said head means at aregion spaced radially of the axis of rotation of said head meanswhereby, as said wire is forced against said pipe, said head means iscaused to rotate by reaction, and means for resisting rotation of saidhead means.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which the means for resistingrotation of said head means comprises dynamic braking means.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which said carriage isself-propelled.

5. In apapratus for winding 21 helically coiled wire reinforcementinside a pipe or the like, a carriage adapted to be advanced through thepipe, a wire-feed head means mounted on said carriage for rotation aboutan axis adapted to coincide with the axis of the pipe, wire-feed meanscarried by said head means for feeding wire toward said pipe from apoint spaced radially of the axis of rotation of said head means and atan angle with respect to a radius line from said axis to said point,whereby, said head means is caused to rotate by reaction, and means forresisting rotation of said head means.

6. In apparatus for winding a helically coiled wire reinforcement insidea pipe or the like, a carriage adapted to be advanced through the pipe,a wire-passing tube mounted horizontally on said carriage, a wire-feedhead means mounted at one end of said tube to rotate about the axis ofthe tube, motor-driven wire-feed means carried by said head means forfeeding wire toward the pipe, and means carried by said carriage forresisting rotation of said head.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 in which said wire-feed head meansis mounted for rotation on said tu be.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 in which said tube is verticallyadjustably mounted on said carriage.

9. In apparatus for winding a helically coiled wire reinforcement insidea pipe or the like, a carriage adapted to be advanced through the pipe,a horizontally disposed wire-passing tube mounted on said carriage andextending longitudinally thereof, said tube projecting beyond therearward end of said carriage, a rotor rotatably mounted on theprojecting portion of said tube, a motor mounted on said rotor, a feedhead frame mounted on said rotor, wire feed rolls carried by said frame,drive means operatively connecting said motor and said feed rolls, andmeans carried by said carriage for resisting rotation of said rotor.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 in which said wire-passing tube ismounted for vertical adjustment.

11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 in which said carriage isself-propelled.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,198,351 Ripley Sept. 12, 1916 1,395,299 Heany Nov. 1, 1921 2,480,180Bolton Aug. 30, 1949 2,772,701 Brune Dec. 4, 1956

